The Rise of Akasutarion
by GoldFlygon
Summary: After Equestria mobilizes to help a neighbouring empire after an earthquake strikes its southern region, Twilight and company find out that an ancient demon has returned from it's imprisonment. Now, they must team up with a mysterious lone colt and set out to stop this demon from destroying the world.
1. Prologue

**Rise of Akasutarion**

**Prologue**

The clouds of smoke choked out the moon and stars that hung lazily in the sky. The only light was emitting from the raging fires that engulfed the the small earth pony village. Cries of terror and sheer pain filled the air with an atmosphere of pure horror. Many bodies littered the ground in pools of the precious crimson life force that was slowly draining out of them. Whoever was not dead yet would be very soon, for the attackers were given a strict order to not let anypony survive, despite their age, gender, or state of health.

Two beasts stood near the ruined gate that used to be the village's main entrance, and seemed to admire the mayhem. One of the beasts was a battle-scared Griffin who donned out-dated rusty battle armor and a wicked set of talons. A hideous scar ran down the left side of his face and over his eye which was milky white. To his left was a massive red stallion who wore no armor. He had black stripes, a black and yellow mane, two black curved horns, a long black tail, and two leathery bat like wings which he had folded at his sides. This was not an ordinary stallion, but something else. Something much worse than what these villagers encountered before.

The two watched as their minions- mostly other griffins and a few trolls- ran through the village, slaughtering anypony that they could find and setting fire to the huts. The red stallion could not remember the last time he had so much fun watching such destruction. He was glad to be free from his "eternal" prison in the dreaded Shadow Void where that bastard King Solaris had trapped him in. Was it King Solaris or some other pony? It did not matter; at least he was getting his revenge on those who worshiped the King. He had gathered an army of great size and laid siege to the ponies of the Soryuhazuke Clan, destroying any of their villages that he could find. This village that he was watching burn to the ground was the last of them.

_Poor fools, _he thought, smiling as the chorus of screams seemed to crescendo. The villagers never expected to come under attack from the very hills that shrouded their village. Plus the attack came on the night that they were celebrating his imprisonment ages ago. How ironic!

Minutes flew by as the screams began to subside. Soon, there were no more screams; the last of the clan had been wiped off of the face of the planet. The stallion smiled, his sinister yellow eyes gleaming in the eerie glow of the firestorm.

Vengeance was finally his!

"My lord," came the rough, airy voice of the griffin at the stallion's side, "one of my squads has come back with something."

The stallion followed the griffin's gaze and saw that he was right. Three griffins in few pieces of rusty armor and a large sickly green oni came marching out of the village. He strained his eyes to see what the large beast was holding and after finding out what it was he said, "I thought I told them to take no prisoners."

The young cyan colt struggled fiercely to break out of the oni's grasp as he was forcefully dragged out of his smoldering village. His face was stained with tears and dried blood matted his coat and once luscious black mane. Despite his struggling, the oni's grip never loosened and it continued to drag him out of the village where his clan used to live.

He stopped struggling once he made eye contact with two glowing yellow orbs that radiated evil. They belonged to something too big to be a normal pony or horse for that matter. Once the colt was closer, he could make out the owner: a huge crimson red stallion. Or was it? It could not have been a stallion because of the horns and the wings. Its hooves looked more like serrated blades than hooves.

The colt was suddenly thrown forwards onto his face. He dared to look up and was rewarded with the stallion staring at him, its slitted yellow eyes burning a hole through his soul and paralyzing him with fear. He begun to shiver uncontrollably.

The oni began to explain to the stallion in its incoherent native language. The stallion's eyes grew wide with surprise.

"He's the one?" he asked.

"_Kurrrksguh_," came the guttural reply.

The stallion looked back at the colt, who from absolute terror suddenly lost control of his bladder.

"Haha!" he laughed. "He sure doesn't seem like the one from my visions, but he does have the same color and the same mane." He paused and then added, "He's perfect."

He nodded to the oni, who forcefully held down the already terrified colt. He walked closer, smiling menacingly as he did. Once he was close enough, he used one of his serrated hooves to scratch three deep gashes in the colt's flank. The colt screamed and squirmed in pain as the stallion continued to mark him. This only delighted the red beast.

"Suck it up, you brat!" he yelled. "I'll do much worse to you later."

Once he finished he used his dark magic to grab a sheathed sword from the oni's belt. This was not an ordinary katana, but the same katana that was used to imprison him all those years ago.

He examined the beautifully crafted blade, taking it out of it's orange sheath.

"Do you not like what I did to you?" he asked the colt who was curled up in a ball on the wet ground, still shivering in fear.

The red stallion continued. "Do you like what I did to your home? Your friends? Your family?"

No answer.

The stallion forcefully grabbed the colt's head and turned it towards the burning village. "Well, do you, you little wretched, pathetic excuse for a colt?" he yelled.

The colt just whimpered.

"I'll just take that as a no," the red beast said as he forced the colt away from him. He then used his magic to sheath the katana and fling it at the colt's hooves as if he were angry with it.

"But why am I asking you this?" he asked sarcastically. "You'll just die here just like your clan did. You'll never be as strong as your ancestor, you'll never get stronger, and you'll never avenge your fallen clan. You're worthless. Which is why you could not save them."

The stallion turned his back on the colt, who was now crying uncontrollably, adding, "You'll forever live a life of shame and disgrace until you can avenge your fallen clan. Do yourself a favor and just die."

With that, the griffins took off through the smoke, the oni lumbered off in the same direction, and the red stallion spreaded his leathery wings. With a horrible, unearthly cry, he shot up into the sky and vanished into the smoke, leaving the traumatized colt at the entrance of his burning village.

As if on cue, the clouds had built up in the sky and released a downpour that snuffed out the conflagration.

**End Prologue**


	2. Act I Chapter 1

**ACT I**

Chapter One

"Well ain't that just great! This bridge is out, too!"

Twilight Sparkle looked ahead at what Big Macintosh had just remarked about. Just ahead of them was a seemingly bottomless chasm. On both sides of the gap were the foundations of a sturdy wooden bridge but the middle third of the bridge was missing. According to the damage, Twilight guessed that the earthquake had triggered a rock slide which ripped out the middle section of the formerly intact span.

"Darn it!" said the purple unicorn as she stomped the ground in frustration. "This day just can't get any worse, can it? Now how are we gonna get across?"

"Maybe Rainbow Dash can find a way around," said Big Mac.

"Speaking of which," Twilight began, "where the hay is she anyway?"

"Beats me."

Twilight grunted and sat down. Using her magic, she pulled a map out of her small backpack and opened it. They were pretty close to their destination: the hard-to-reach Graystone Village. However, according to the map, they had to cross about three more gaps before they could get to the village. Between the hazards and the rocky terrain, it would probably take them another day, at lease, if the bridges were in tact.

It had already took the trio three days to make it this far mainly because of the cart that Big Macintosh was pulling, which was piled with boxes of food and supplies that were being delivered to Graystone. This village and many others around the Kingdom of Equestria had requested for such supplies after an earthquake had struck those regions, causing moderate damage and a few injuries. As a result, Princess Celestia sent several teams to deliver the supplies to different areas that were affected; Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Big Mac had volunteered to be one of the teams. Unfortunately, they were assigned to Graystone Village, which was notorious for being hard to get to.

"Who decides to build a village in a mountain range anyways?" Twilight thought out loud.

"Dunno," replied Big Mac as he chewed on a stalk of wheat. "Prob'ly ponies who don't wanna git attacked."

Twilight looked up and scanned the blue sky. A few lazy clouds floated on the cool breeze, occasionally obscuring the mighty sun.

_Where is that pegasus, _she thought. She pulled out two apples from her pack and gave one to Big Mac who happily accepted the ripe red fruit.

Twilight had thought back to a few days ago, when she and her friends volunteered to aid in the relief effort. They had all arrived at Canterlot after the princess requested their attendance there.

* * *

><p><em>The six mares had disembarked the train after it stopped at the station. They walked through the city of Canterlot, making their way towards the castle. After showing the letter from Princess Celestia to the guards, they were escorted to the main hall where they waited for the princess. Pinkie Pie bounced around impatiently while Rarity flipped through the newest edition of a fashion magazine, Twilight sipped on some tea, Rainbow Dash and Applejack conversed about their rematch, and Fluttershy gazed out the window.<em>

_The six had waited for about eight minutes until the princess walked into the hall talking to a tough-looking stallion which Twilight believed to be the sergeant-at-arms. After a nod and a quick bow, the stallion exited through the doors that the mares had entered through. They had stopped what they were doing and bowed respectfully to Celestia._

_"So what's the problem, ma'am," Applejack asked the white alicorn._

_Princess Celestia led the six mares over to a map of the kingdom and its surrounding area. "Have you all heard of the recent rash of earthquakes in the surrounding regions?"_

_Twilight nodded. "There were reports of a few injuries and some damage to buildings."_

_Celestia looked at the map. Several red X's marked the villages and towns that were affected by the earthquakes. "Many of the towns in the regions have sent requests for food, water, and medical supplies to the Shang Xiao Empire and our kingdom. Since both are the closest to the affected regions, we will be in charge of receiving and delivering the supplies to the designated locations."_

_"That's why we're here, princess," Rainbow Dash replied. "We wanna pitch in and help get those supplies to the villages."_

_"We...uh...figured that the Royal Guard could...um...use an extra hoof...or two," Fluttershy added._

_"Plus," Pinkie Pie began, "we've got other ponies who want to help out. The more the merrier!"_

_"Excellent," Celestia said. "I'll notify the sergeant-at-arms right away."_

_"Tell him to let anypony who wants to volunteer know that they should sign up at the Sugarcube Corner," Rarity stated._

_"I'll see to it. Thank you all very much."_

* * *

><p>Twilight and Big Mac had just finished eating their apples when they saw something flying towards them, leaving a rainbow streak behind it. Both of them instantly realized who it was.<p>

"There she is!" Big Mac said.

"Well, it's about time," Twilight commented.

The blue pegasus landed in front of the two equines, panting heavily. After regaining some energy, she spoke.

"Well," she started, "we're not as far from Graystone as we thought, but I saw that all of the bridges between here and there are gone."

Twilight was flabbergasted. "All of them?"

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Every. Last. One. That had to have been one heck of an earthquake.

"Anyways," she continued, " I found an alternate way. A patrolling soldier told me that there's a cave that leads straight to Graystone.."

Big Mac chewed on the stalk of wheat. "Is it wide 'nuff t' fit the cart through?" he asked.

"Sure is," came the reply, "but we'll have to do some backtracking 'cause we passed the entrance."

Twilight walked over to the pegasus and showed her the map. "Can you point it out?" she asked.

Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at a point further back from their current position. "Should be right there," she said. "The soldier told me to look for a funky-looking rock formation. The entrance should be near it."

The purple unicorn rolled up the map and placed it back in her pack, then tossed a red apple at Rainbow Dash, who caught it and ate it.

"Mmmm. My compliments to the Apple family. I'll go on ahead and see if I can find that formation. See ya there." With that, she tossed the apple core away, flapped her wings and sped off down the winding road towards the location of the rock formation.

* * *

><p>"Princess, is everything alright?"<p>

The young white pegasus Guard walked up to the door and noticed that it was partially opened. He slowly opened it. Inside was a very decent room, still not worthy of five stars, but decent, nonetheless. There was a coat of baby blue paint on the walls, a deep blue vanity on the left wall with a wooden wardrobe beside it, a black and white carpet on the floor, and in the far right corner stood a round bed with a white fluffy bedspread on it.

The Guard looked ahead and saw a large open window that led to a balcony that overlooked the town. There he saw a grayish blue alicorn standing on the balcony and looking out over the town, lost in deep thought.

The stallion cleared his throat. "Ehem. Excuse me, Princess Luna. Is everything alright?"

Luna turned with a jolt as if she was suddenly shaken from sleep. She saw the white pegasus and sighed. "Oh, it's just you. Yes, everything's alright, Windshield. Are the others awake?"

Windshield nodded. "Yes, ma'am. The others are downstairs waiting for you."

"Excellent. I shall be down in a few minutes."

The Guard bowed low, turned and walked out the room. He stopped midway and asked, "If you don't mind me asking, princess, what were you thinking about?"

Luna looked back out over the town wall and into the rocky mountains beyond. "Nothing," she replied. "Nothing important..."

"Very well," Windshield replied and exited the room, softly closing the door behind him.

Luna continued to stare into the wilderness beyond the wall. Something did not feel right about that day; it felt like something was coming, something bad. The ominous feeling washed over her like the tiny droplets of a coming storm and it sent shivers down her spine.

Suddenly, she shook her head, causing her blue mane to whip around. _It's probably the dinner I ate last night,_ she thought. _I forgot how bad Shang-Xiao dishes are on my stomach._ Luna then walked over to the vanity, picked up her brush using her magic, and began to brush her mane one last time before she left.

She had to make this meeting; she did not want to keep Celestia waiting...

_**To be continued...**_


	3. Act I Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The inn was alive with activity. Ponies everywhere were sitting at the round tables set up in the eating area and chatting about various topics from the weather to business plans. Two unicorn mares, one black and one yellow, were serving the guests at the serving line, smiling as they gave them their meals. They gave a wink to the Lunar Republic Royal Guard as he passed through the line and picked up an apple. The handsome stallion flashed them a smile (he could have sworn one of them said that he was cute) and walked back to the table where four other Guards were seated at.

"And then," said one of the Equestrian Royal Guards, "she looked at me and was all like, 'This is all your fault!' and kept going on and on and on, so I just ignored her. I mean, it wasn't _my_ fault that the damn carriage flipped over and ruined that heifer's dress. She was lucky to be alive, that ungrateful-"

"Whoa, calm down, Cobalt!" said one of the Lunar Royal Guards.

"Trust me, Night Shade," Cobalt replied, "if you were in my position at that time you'd be thinking the same thing. Hell, you would have probably thought worse!"

Night Shade gave a half shrug. "Maybe. What about you, Silent?"

The mute stallion named Silent Swing gave a shrug and went back to eating his breakfast.

The Lunar Guard stallion that was in line finally took a seat by Night Shade. "What's up, guys?"

"Took you long enough Shadow," said the Equestrian veteran named Ironside. "Were you flirting with those two mares again?"

"Yeah," Shadow replied with a sly smile.

"Will you ever get tired of that?"

"Don't be mad at me 'cause you don't get any play, grandpa."

The young Guard named Windshield finally arrived downstairs and sat at the table. "The princess said that she'll be down in a few," he reported.

"About time," Shadow replied. "I mean, I like this town and all, but at the same time, I don't. You know what I mean, Silent Swing?"

Silent Swing simply nodded.

"Anywho," Cobalt continued, "that ungrateful little hag was lucky to be alive after that accident. I nearly killed myself trying to stop the damned carriage."

Cobalt continued with his ranting for a few more minutes before Ironside changed the subject. They conversed for about five minutes until Princess Luna made her way down the stairs, dressed and ready to go. When she walked up to the table, the six Guard stallions placed their helmets upon their heads and stood at attention.

Ironside stepped forward. "We are ready to go, ma'am," he said.

"Good," Luna replied. After a quick head count, she asked, "Where's Captain Silverblade?"

"He's getting fitted for a helmet, ma'am," replied the muscular stallion. "He's been gone since four o'clock this morning. Heaven knows what's taking him."

As if on cue, the captain walked into the inn. Like most Equestrian Royal Guards, he had a white coat and a set of golden armor. To his right side, hanging by a leather strap, was a sheathed sword. The muscular stallion had several battle scars decorating his head and neck, indicating how many times that luck saved him. His blonde mane was long and had a luscious sheen to it. His tail, which also had such a sheen, was cut short according to regulations. He approached Princess Luna and bowed low.

"My apologies, princess," he said. "The smith took so long to get the measurements, plus he did not have anything that fit me."

"I take it that you are ready now?" Luna asked.

Captain Silverblade stood at attention. "Ready and willing, miss."

* * *

><p>"C'mon! Where's that darn rock?"<p>

Rainbow Dash had made it to the place before the other two and was looking for the out-of-place rock. Frustrated, she sat down.

"Where is it?" she asked out loud.

"Any luck, Dash?"

The blue pegasus turned her head and saw that Big Macintosh and Twilight Sparkle had finally caught up with her.

"Hay no," she said angrily.

Twilight walked up to the wall and began to assist her friend in searching for the rock. After about four minutes of scouring the rocky wall, the two stepped back from it.

"Jeez!" Twilight exclaimed. "Where is it?"

"Maybe the 'quake covered it up," Big Mac suggested.

That's when a light bulb went off in Dash's head. "Twi," she began, "maybe Big Mac's right. Maybe the rock and the tunnel entrance is covered."

"So?"

"So..."The pegasus walked up to the wall again and pointed her hoof at a certain spot on it. "So use one of your magic spells and blow up the rocks."

"Are you nuts?" the unicorn exclaimed. "That could trigger a rock slide and _kill_ us!"

"Trust me, there isn't gonna be a rock slide."

Twilight gave her friend a "_you're_-_crazy_-_as-hell" _look. She stared at her for a minute then said, "Alright. But if something bad happens..."

"Nothing bad is gonna happen, Twi, as long as you hit that spot right there," replied the pegasus as she pointed at the spot that she indicated before.

Twilight sighed nervously and pointed her horn at the spot. Her horn began to glow as she focused her magic into it. As she did, the glow began to intensify until it was as bright as a miniature sun. Suddenly, a bright bolt of magic shot from her horn and flew towards the target, detonating upon impact. The explosion echoed through the mountains and debris fell everywhere. Once it cleared, the three equines could see that the entrance to the tunnel was revealed.

Big Mac whistled. "Wow, Twilight. You've really been studying up on your spells."

Twilight smiled and was about to say something when Rainbow Dash called to them from the tunnel entrance.

"Hey! You two!" she yelled. "C'mon! We're wasting daylight! Let's go!"

* * *

><p>Princess Luna and her escorts were on the move. Not too long ago, the eight ponies had left the town and began their trek back to Equestria, but not without receiving some vital information from a Shang-Xiao sergeant.<p>

"Be sure to stay out of the skies until you get past the Yashimoto Village outpost," he had said. "And if I recall, the bandits here practically rule the mountain trails at night, so be sure to find a safe place to stay before night catches you. I would hate to find out that royal blood has been spilled."

The party took the sergeant's advice and were quickly on their way. As they walked, Captain Silverblade conversed with the princess.

"My internal clock says that it'll be very close to nightfall by the time we reach Yashimoto," the scarred stallion began, "which means that we should find an inn to rest at as soon as we set foot in the village."

"Couldn't we just increase our pace?" Luna suggested. "We'd probably be able to bypass the village and reach the outpost."

"Not possible. Even if we were to speed our pace up and bypass Yashimoto, night would catch us as we're traveling from the village to the outpost. Way too risky."

The princess sighed. She was hoping that they would reach Canterlot sooner than that. However, their safety would be jeopardized if they were caught by the quilt of night, so Luna could only do what would best keep her and her escorts safe.

The party pressed on with Ironside and Cobalt on point scouting the area ahead, Silent Swing kept a distance behind them, Luna, Night Shade, and Silverblade were in the middle, and Windshield and Shadow brought up the rear.

They had been walking for about an hour until the two stallions up front suddenly stopped. Silent Swing noticed and signaled for the rest of the formation to stop.

Windshield began to get nervous. "Did they spot some bandits?" he asked Shadow.

The handsome stallion shrugged. "Dunno, but if they did, then we've gotta guard the rear while the guys up front take care of 'em."

"You've ever been in combat before?"

Shadow nodded. "Yup, and it ain't pretty, kid. Lost a lotta good friends." He paused as if to have a moment of silence for his fallen brothers in arms.

Ironside turned around and waved to the equines behind him, which was the signal to stand down. The tension lifted like fog.

"It's a friendly patrol," the Guardpony called out. "Shang-Xiao soldiers. They're offering to escort us to Yashimoto Village."

The captain chuckled. "Well that's mighty damn kind of 'em."

Princess Luna breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. It's safer to travel these roads in numbers."

* * *

><p>"<em>Domo arigato<em>! Thank you so much!"

The trio had finally made it to Graystone Village, and – thanks to the tunnel – in record time, too. The village was not in that much of a bad shape as Twilight had originally inferred; most of the damage was already close to being fully repaired and the debris had been cleared up.

"You are very welcome, Mayor Graystone," the purple unicorn said to the gray earth pony stallion.

Big Macintosh looked up into the sky and noticed that the sun was beginning to set. "Looks like we should be headin' back t' Equestria," he stated. "It'll be dark purty soon."

"_Watashi no yujin ga kenmeide wanai_. Not wise my friend," said Mayor Graystone. "The roads are ruled by the bandits at night. We've had too many reports of those rogues attacking and robbing travelers. It's too dangerous to travel during the night so we lock down the village in the evening."

"Dang!" whispered Rainbow Dash. "Guess we're stuck here 'til morning."

"Relax, Dash," Twilight replied. "We'll just find an inn."

"You all can stay at my place," the mayor chimed in. "Don't worry! We have extra rooms!"

Twilight thought for a moment and then answered. "I guess we can stay."

"_Yushuna_!" the mayor exclaimed. "You three shall be my honored guests. Come! Come! Dinner's almost ready!"

* * *

><p>"Thank you for the escort, troops," Captain Silverblade said to the armored soldiers. They saluted smartly and walked off to comply with their new orders.<p>

Yashimoto Village was one of those villages that was not too big, but not too small. There were a few guard posts here and there, a thatch building that served as the local hospital, a blacksmith, smaller huts that the villagers lived in, and a large building that served as the inn. There was a wooden sign over the front entrance that had _katakana_ characters carved into it. They read: _Mamanetti no In_ – Mama Nettie's Inn.

Shadow made an observation of the inn. "Not exactly a five-star place," he stated.

"But it's better than nothing, brother," Night Shade replied.

"Yeah," said Cobalt, "and a helluva lot better than fighting bandits in the dead of night,"

The eight ponies walked into the inn and were greeted by the sweet smell of burning incense, ivory statues, shields hung on the walls, and a soot-black earth pony mare. She had dark brown eyes and dreadlocks for her mane and tail which were a two-tone brown and had small sea shells on the ends.

"I see tha' dem bandits caused ya t' stop 'ere for t' night," she spoke with a thick Jamaican-like accent. "My name's Mama Nettie. Welcome t' my inn."

"Pleased to meet you, Mama Nettie," Princess Luna replied. "I am Princess Luna, Princess Celestia's younger sister."

"Ah yes! I know 'bout her! Pleasure t' meet cha!" Nettie replied as she bowed respectfully. "Ya need rooms, right?"

"Yes," Silverblade answered. "Four of them, please."

"Very well." Mama Nettie turned and walked behind the reception desk. She grabbed four keys and laid them on the counter. "De room numbers are on th' keys."

"Thank you, Mama Nettie," said Luna.

"Please, just call me Nettie. Dinner will be ready soon. T'will fill ya up, trust me!"

**To be continued...**


	4. Act I Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

A lone figure dashed through the forest, panting heavily as it made its way through the trees. The eerie moonlight filtered through the trees and created pools of light; if one saw the figure as it ran through one of these pools, they would see only a cobalt blue streak. Upon closer inspection, one would also notice a sheath tied to the figure's right side by a dingy white cloth.

_They're here_, the figure thought, jumping over a fallen tree. _I can feel them._

The figure halted at a towering rock wall and looked up, the moonlight illuminating its deep green eyes. After scanning the rocky obstacle, it crouched then jumped. It landed on a lose rock; just as it began to fall from the wall, the figure jumped again, landing on another rock that was set higher than the previous one. It continued to nimbly hop from rock to rock and eventually reached a level area. Taking a quick look around, it located a line of wooden stakes stuck into the ground. The line weaved through the mountains, marking the safest route.

_They must be stopped before they hurt more innocents,_ the figure thought as it took off, following the trail that ascended up the mountain.

* * *

><p>"<em>Mmmmm!<em> This is delicious!" Windshield exclaimed after swallowing another mouthful of Nettie's special soup. "All of the flavors seem to just explode in my mouth! How do you do it, ma'am?"

The soot black earth pony laughed a bit then said, "Now dat's a secret I'll nevah tell."

Ironside sipped some more of the broth, nodding in response to a statement by Cobalt, who was once again going on about the ill-fated incident with the carriage; Shadow and Night Shade were conversing about the pretty mares that they had left behind in the previous town with Silent Swing and Silverblade quietly listening.

Princess Luna was sitting between Windshield and Cobalt. The alicorn simply starred into her bowl of soup. Windshield could tell by her expression that whatever was on her mind was troubling her.

"Princess?"

"Hm?" Luna looked up at the young white pegasus. "What is it, Windshield?"

"Is something the matter?" he asked. "You haven't touched your soup and you look like something's troubling you."

"Oh..." The midnight blue alicorn looked back into her soup. "I've felt something…before we left."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Windshield was curious. "What was it that you felt?"

"Something powerful…and evil…" said Luna hesitantly.

All of the Guard ponies stopped their conversations and listened.

The captain was the first to reply. "Hmm. Something powerful and evil, you say?"

Luna nodded. "Something stronger than either Discord or Nightmare Moon. I've been wondering about what it could be."

Silverblade yawned a little. "Pardon me. Maybe you're just tired, princess. I bet that by sunrise you'll feel a whole lot better."

_I guess I am a bit tired_, Luna thought. _Maybe some sleep would be the best remedy for this problem._

Shadow got up and walked over to a window. He took a quick note of the surrounding area: several Shang-Xiao guard ponies were on nocturnal patrol, and the four guard towers around the mountain village were occupied by plenty of well-armed guards. A bright full moon spilled an eerie light upon the whole scene.

The Lunar Guard pegasus gave a quick nod to Silverblade, indicating that the village was secured. He stepped from the window and yawned. "Man, I'm beat. I'll turn in for the night. Goodnight, everypony. Sleep tight."

As he walked up the stairs, Ironside turned to the captain. "I'll stand guard by the princess' room door," he said, "just in case some idiot tries something stupid."

"They'll probably never get the chance to," Silverblade replied. "Windshield and Silent Swing will stay downstairs with me on first watch."

* * *

><p>Rainbow Dash flopped onto her bed. "Whew! I'm totally stuffed! That food was good!"<p>

Twilight Sparkle laughed. "These Shang-Xiao ponies sure do have some unique food."

"And these beds are so comfy!" the blue pegasus exclaimed. "It feels like I'm sleeping on my cloud back home."

The purple unicorn walked over to her own bed next to Rainbow Dash's. She climbed in and laid on her back. _Boy, today sure was busy_, she thought as she stared up at the ceiling. _I wonder how the others are faring right now._

A sudden feeling caused a chill run down Twilight's spine and made her twitch. She sat up and looked to her right out the window. Some guards were on patrol and a few lit lanterns were hanging on wooden pools throughout the village. An ominous full moon illuminated the scenery.

The odd feeling that caused that chill seemed to be emanating from beyond Graystone Village. It felt like it was coming from _something_ so far away, but so close at the same time.

And it was evil. Very evil...

"_Hellooo!_ Earth to Twilight! You in?"

Twilight Sparkle came back to reality and looked over at the blue pegasus who was now at the side of her bed. "Hm? What's wrong?"

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "You kinda zoned out on me. Something on your mind?" She moved her face closer to Twilight's, a wide grin on her face. "Thinking about that special stallion? Hmm?"

Twilight Sparkle's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "W-what are you talking about?" she asked.

"Don't play dumb with me, Twi," replied Rainbow Dash. "You've got yourself a-"

"No I don't!" Twilight exclaimed. Her entire face started to turn red from embarrassment.

"Oh really now? That's not what Digger told me. He said that you and him were...what was it? _Going out together?_"

"Oh shut up! Me and Digger are _not_ together!"

Rainbow Dash giggled. "Oh yeah, that's right. You and _Caramel_ are dating."

Twilight rolled her eyes. She hated when Rainbow Dash messed with her like that. "Whatever. I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Twi. Don't go having any _naughty_ dreams now, okay?"

"Shut. Up."

* * *

><p>Big Macintosh was examining an old suit of armor on display in the living room of the mansion when Mayor Graystone walked in.<p>

"It's a bit late," said the gray earth pony. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Sorry, mister," the big stallion replied. "I was admirin' this here suit of armor. Mighty fine work I say."

Graystone looked at the suit of armor. The crimson red layered scales were outlined by yellow details, the helmet had the same color and details and on top of it rested a once golden crescent moon decoration, now old and tarnished. To the armor's side was a stand where an ancient serrated katana rested on the top rung and its black and yellow scabbard rested on the lower rung.

"It is an excellent work of art," Graystone said with a nod.

"Eyup."

"My great grandfather wore this armor back when the Shang-Xiao empire didn't even exist," the gray pony stated. "Instead, there were seven separate kingdoms. They constantly fought each other in a series of bloody conflicts, each trying to conquer the other, but they never succeeded for the battles would always end in a stalemate.

"Then, one day, my great grandfather, a rogue warrior from the southernmost kingdom, rose to power and in five long, difficult years, he united the seven kingdoms under one name: the Shang-Xiao Empire." Graystone looked up at the armor, now resting on a mannequin. "This is the exact same armor and sword that he used almost ninety-seven years ago."

Big Macintosh nodded. "My pa used t' be a soldier once," he said. "Fought for ten years, got tired of it, settled down, an' bought a farm. Named it Sweet Apple Acres after my ma's nickname."

"Oh, I do love the apples that your family grows there! They are so delicious!"

"Why thank you, mister." After admiring the armor for another minute, the large stallion turned and headed for his room. "I should get some sleep now. Got an early mornin' t'morrow. Goodnight, n' thanks for the stay."

"You're quite welcome, Big Macintosh."

Big Macintosh walked out of the room, leaving Mayor Graystone to admire his great grandfather's armor.

* * *

><p>Fire. Death. Destruction.<p>

Luna glanced around her. A huge conflagration had swallowed all of the village as multiple ponies screamed in horror and pain as their lives were taken from them. The village had been attacked by bandits and was now beginning to burn to the ground.

The alicorn looked ahead of her. On the ground were the bodies of Ironside, Night Shade, Cobalt, and Silent Swing. To her sides stood Shadow and Windshield, their eyes fixed ahead of them and widened with pure terror. Luna followed their gaze and laid her eyes upon three silhouettes. One was a pony – a pegasus – with shining armor that reflected the eerie glow of the flames. The other, a griffin with scars on his face and old, worn battle armor.

It was the figure between them that caused Luna to panic. It was still nothing but a dark shape, so Luna was unable to see any details, but she noticed the creature's immense size, its enormous bat-like wings, the long, flowing tail, the two curved horns on it's head...

_And those eyes!_

The eyes of the beast glowed an evil yellow and one could clearly see the black slit of the pupil. Those eyes were from the pits of Hell itself!

It walked slowly towards her, breathing heavily, its evil gaze fixed upon the princess of night. Several Shang-Xiao soldiers stormed past Luna to attack the beast, drawing their swords and yelling their battle cries.

But the beast was ready.

One by one, it brutally killed the soldiers using some sort of energy that it generated, _the same energy that Luna felt before!_

It was through with the soldiers in a heartbeat: almost a score and a half of the brave troops were slaughtered before they even got close to the demon. It slowly walked up to Luna and glared into her eyes, seemingly burning holes in her soul.

She could make out some details now: The beast was red, blood red. Its horns were black and shiny as opals, and a wicked smile was painted on its face.

"_Subete ga nenshō shimasu," _it spoke as it raised its serrated hoof to strike the alicorn that it towered over.

She understood exactly what the creature said – "All will burn."

The beast brought its hoof down upon Luna's face.

* * *

><p>Luna's eyes shot open as she quickly sat up in her bed. The alicorn was breathing heavily as a cold sweat drenched her body.<p>

_That nightmare,_ she thought. _I felt that feeling again. But...it's so much stronger now, like it's...close by...very close by._

She glanced around her darkened room. Being the goddess of the night, she could identify the objects in her room, even in the dark. A tall wooden wardrobe stood near the small vanity with its small mirror. To her right was a small bedside table with an unlit candle and a small analog clock that read "1:03 AM." Then she noticed the window, which allowed some light to seep into the room.

The light was very odd, however. Instead of the usual white light caused by the moon's glow, there was an eerie reddish and yellowish light that illuminated some of the room.

Luna's heart raced as she began to assume that the worst had happened. Suddenly, her room door burst open to reveal Ironside. Upon closer inspection, the alicorn realized that he was panicking slightly.

"M' lady!" said he. Urgency was all over his voice. "We have to move! _Now!_"

Luna did not think twice; her fears were already confirmed: Yamimoto Village was under attack.

She sprang from her bed and darted to the door. Just as soon as she exited the room a large boulder came crashing through the wall with the window and crushed the bed that Luna was lying in only moments before.

"Downstairs, Princess," the veteran guard pony ordered. "We're getting out of here."

"The village-" Luna started to say.

"The Shang-Xiao Guard is already on it," Ironside interrupted. "Right now, our biggest concern is your safety."

The two rounded a corner and came upon the stairwell. On the ground floor stood the rest of the escorts and Mama Neddie.

"There they are!" Windshield cried. "C'mon! We've gotta get outta here!"

Luna and Ironside raced down the stairs. As they reached the bottom, Luna noticed that the lobby was a complete mess: Furniture was overturned or broken, dishes were smashed, some of the decorations were horribly destroyed, and several bodies of earth ponies were strewn all over the place.

"What the hell?" she asked.

"Rebels, ma'am," Silverblade answered. "They raided the village and stormed the inn. We've managed to take this lot down, but there are still plenty more of them attacking the village. We've gotta get you out of here."

The group ran out of the inn and into the cool night air, which had grown warm from the fires that were destroying some of the houses. Several bodies of rebels and Shang-Xiao guards littered the ground.

"Damn," swore Shadow. "It's worse than I assumed!"

A Shang-Xiao guard pony ran up to the group. Silverblade quickly stopped him and inquired about the attack.

"The bandits have attacked the village from all sides, sir," he replied. A small river of blood ran down the left side of his face. "They even went as far as to climb up the mountain side to get us. We're trying to contain the situation, but the fires are making it a lot more difficult."

"Well, what are we waitin' for?" Cobalt asked. "Let's go kick some-"

"No," Night Shade interrupted. "Our priority is to protect Princess Luna."

"But-"

"We can handle it," the soldier replied. "Trust me. Reinforcements are on the way. I just hope that they get here fast enough. Anyways, head to the northern gate. You should meet some soldiers along the way. They'll escort you out of the village." He looked over to Neddie. "Ma'am, I have to escort you to the shelters."

"Okay," the gray mare replied. She walked over to the soldier then looked back at the princess and her escorts. "Don't worry 'bout ol' Neddie. I'll be fine, seen?"

Luna nodded. "Okay. Be safe." She turned to her guards and said, "Alright, troops. Let's move!"

**To be continued...**


	5. Act I Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

There were six Shang-Xiao soldiers waiting for them along the path. Once they approached them, the commanding officer spoke.

"Thank the gods," he said. "We thought that you all weren't going to make it."

Silverblade walked up to the officer. "So, you guys are the ones who are to escort us to the exit?"

The armored soldier nodded. "We must hurry before the rebels reach the gate and cut us off. They already have reached the southern entrance. It's a bloodbath over there! The only way out is back through the northern entrance."

The group headed off towards the northern entrance of the village, careful to avoid the areas that were consumed by flames.

Luna looked around as she ran. All around, there were thatch huts burning, civilians running towards the shelters, and soldiers barking orders at each other and fighting the poorly armed rebel ponies.

"I hope that reinforcements arrive to assist soon," she said to the officer.

He simply nodded his head. "I hope so too," he replied, "before our defenses are slowly overrun."

"Whoa! Rebels ahead!" Windshield screamed.

Sure enough, there was a group of about twelve rebels blocking the path ahead. They had red and black bandanas around their heads and necks, sported worn leather armor, and were armed with rusty swords. As soon as Luna and her escorts rounded the corner, the leader of the rebel group drew his sword and cried, "Attack! Kill them all!"

"Defensive formation," Silverblade ordered. "Keep them away from the Princess at all costs! Windshield! Shadow! Night Shade! Cover the rear and make sure none of these bastards try to flank us!"

The Shang-Xiao soldiers and Royal Guard ponies shifted their positions and created a close-knit wedge formation just as the rebels threw themselves upon them. Swords clashed against each other as the two groups fought.

Silent Swing was lucky and struck a rebel in the neck. Cobalt was grazed by a sword, but retaliated and struck his adversary down. A Shang-Xiao pony screamed in pain as two rebels took him out. Luna fired a bolt of magic at the leader, striking him in the face and silencing him for good.

"Eyes up!" Night Shade yelled. "They're flanking to the left!"

"On it, boss," Shadow replied. "Let's take 'em out, Windshield!"

"Okay!"

The ponies began to shift the formation to the left to keep the rebels from flanking. It worked; no matter how hard they tried, the rebels could not get past the line.

Shadow parried a thrust and countered, stabbing his attacker between a gap in his armor. "Eat this, you scumbag!" he yelled.

"Watch out, Windshield!" Night Shade cried. "To your left!"

The young Guard ducked just in time for a blade to wiz above his head, taking of a tip of his right ear. He thrust his sword up, piercing the rebel's weak armor and stabbing him in the chest. The soldier coughed, eyes wide with surprise and pain, then went limp.

Windshield pulled his now partially crimson sword out of the body and pushed it to the side. He was breathing heavily and stunned at the fact that he had just _killed_ another pony. He starred at the lifeless body.

"It was either him or you, kid," said Shadow as he nudged the stunned pegasus. "Come on. We've gotta keep moving."

Windshield remained silent for a moment before finally saying, "Okay." He tore his gaze from the dead soldier and moved with the group as they once again started to make their way to the entrance of the village.

* * *

><p>The figure came across a large gap that a bridge once spanned. In the dead of night, it could identify the wooden poles that held the bridge up. It looked into the gap.<p>

_Instant death_, it thought. Then it looked towards the other side. It was a good fifteen-foot span, too far to make in one jump.

It looked over to its right and noticed that the cliff on the side of the gap had a rocky surface. _Perfect!_

The figure stepped back and broke out into a sprint. As soon as it reached the edge of the gap, it jumped towards its right and landed on a rock that jutted out from the wall. Instantly, the figure jumped off of the rock and landed safely on the other side. It took a brief look behind, then ran off up the path, passing a sign that read "Graystone Village – 2 miles"...

* * *

><p>After another brief skirmish, the party finally made it to the outskirts of Yashimoto Village. Cobalt looked ahead as they ran.<p>

"Look!" he shouted. "There it is! The northern entrance! We're almost home free!"

Sure enough, straight ahead of them was the tall arch that marked the village's northern entrance. The flag of the Shang-Xiao Empire furled in the breeze, indicating that the wind was blowing to the east, down from the mountain range. Near the arch were about twenty Shang-Xiao soldiers, clad in the trademark gray armor for the non-commissioned soldiers and red armor for the officers. The leader of the group was wearing a yellow crest on his helmet in the shape of the crescent moon. All of them had their blades drawn. At their feet were the bodies of a squad of bandits who had met their end at the blades of the soldiers.

The commanding officer waved at the approaching party once she realized that they were the ones escorting Princess Luna out of the village. "Come on!" she yelled. "Hurry before more of them show up!"

Luna and her escorts sped their pace up as they neared the entrance. They were almost there! Almost out of the village...

A bright flash illuminated the area. Suddenly, there was a deafening explosion. The concussion knocked back everypony nearby; those that were too close were instantly incinerated by the massive fireball that erupted.

Luna hit the ground pretty hard, but she recovered almost instantly, probably because of the magic in her blood that augmented her natural healing, which is common in alicorns. She looked up at the north entrance. It was no more; only fire marked the place where the north gate was. She felt an ominous presence, just like before, but this time the energy was so strong that she concluded that the source was definitely not anything..._mortal_.

The cold grip of absolute terror gripped the lunar princess. Her eyes were locked in the direction of the conflagration.

_By the gods!_ She thought. _W-what is that?_

A figure materialized out of the flames as if it was born from them. The silhouette walked slowly, its massive wings – apparently like those of a bat – were outstretched. The being was _huge_, taller than both Luna _and_ Celestia and it had a build of Big Macintosh. Yet, the most distinguishing part of this beast was its _eyes_! Those bright, evil yellow eyes with slitted pupils glowed as if the fires of Hell were inside of them. They were locked onto Luna's own eyes, seemingly gazing deep into her soul.

_Subete wa hi ni yotte shōhi sa remasu_, said something in Luna's mind. She knew that it came from whatever that beast was...

She wanted to run. She wanted to get as far away from that..._thing_ as possible, but she just could not move! Frozen by terror, the lunar princess remained on the ground, trembling with fear, her gaze locked with the monster that was slowly approaching her.

"**Y****AAAAHHH!**"

A Shang-Xiao soldier, screaming bloody murder, ran directly at the beast once it was out of the fire, his sword drawn, ready to kill it. He did not get within three steps from the creature before he was stopped suddenly. Then he was lifted up high into the air. He soon shot downward at a deadly speed, as if something was dragging him towards the Earth.

_BLAM!_

The earth pony smashed into the rocky ground head-first and never moved again. The beast, unshaken, continued its slow walk towards Luna.

Another soldier – Cobalt – shot forward, his wings outstretched and his sword unsheathed. He swung his sword. It impacted some sort of force field, inches away from the monster's head. The beast growled, and some dark force tore the sword from Cobalt and impaled him on it. The Solar Guard pony fell over dead as Silent Swing charged forward with three Shang-Xiao soldiers. They were transfixed instantly, then lifted up into the air. In a flash, Silent Swing was bent head-over-rump. His spine snapped, then he was thrown away like a rag doll; the two Shang-Xiao soldiers were thrown into a stone wall and killed.

"Princess! Get up!"

A young Solar Guard ran up to the terrorized alicorn and was shaking her violently.

"C'mon! Princess! Snap out of it!"

Luna did not respond. The beast, now only about twenty-five yards from her, drew closer and closer...

"Windshield!" Ironside exclaimed. "Get the princess outta here!"

"I'm trying, dammit!" the young guard shouted back. He heard Night Shade scream in pain, but did not dare to look. He continued to shake Luna and yell at her.

Shadow ran up to the two. "I didn't wanna have to do this," he said as he raised his hoof and brought it across Luna's face, slapping her hard enough to break her out of her trance. "Princess! We have to take flight! Now!"

Now out of the terrorized trance, Princess Luna blinked, shook her head, and stretched her wings. "What about –" she started to say.

"Captain said that we need to get you out of here," Windshield interrupted. "That's our top priority! Let's go! Hurry, before that thing gets us!"

Without a second thought, the midnight blue alicorn started to beat her wings against the air; Shadow and Windshield did the same. Soon, the three ponies were in the air, and they flew off towards the south.

Down below, the beast watched as Luna escaped, then used his dark magic to snap Ironside's neck. It growled in anger, then fixed its eyes on Captain Silverblade, who had his sword drawn.

"Guess it's my time then, huh?" the scarred pegasus muttered. He glared back at the monster. "Let's dance, ugly."

**To be continued...**


	6. Act I Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The terrified princess and her escorts flew north for a good mile before making a change in direction. They flew back south, making sure to avoid Yashimoto Village just in case the fight was still going on.

Luna looked in the direction of the village as they flew around it. Even though they were extremely far away she could still see the orange glow from the raging fires that lit up the night. The princess could also feel that same energy – though it was weaker – emanating from the location.

"I hope that captain'll be alright," said Windshield. He looked behind him at Shadow, who was lagging behind a little. The Lunar pegasus' eyes were locked onto the village, and he had a grim look on his face. Windshield then remembered that Night Shade, Shadow's brother, was killed during the encounter with the beast. "I'm sorry about Night Shade," he said.

He nodded, but kept his eyes locked onto Yashimoto Village for a while before looking ahead. "We'll mourn him and the others later," he said. "Right now, we've got to get back to Equestria before those thi...Aah!"

Luna looked at Shadow. "What's wrong?" she inquired.

"I-It's my wing," the Lunar Guard replied through clenched teeth. "Damn! Must have sprained it when that thing attacked us!"

Luna thought for a moment. _Based on my previous travels,_ she thought, _the nearest village from this point would be...Graystone!_

She looked back at the two pegasi. "We're heading to Graystone Village," she said. "It's the nearest village from here."

"No," Shadow replied. "We've gotta get you back to Equestria where you'll be safe...Ow! Damned wing!"

"We are not going to do that, Shadow," she replied sternly. "If we bypass a safe place where you can rest your wing, then you might not make it back to Equestria, and I'm not going to lose any more escorts."

"You won't, princess. I'll be fi...Agh!"

Windshield looked at Shadow. "She's right," he told him. "We can't risk you falling out of the sky on the way back. We'll have to get that wing looked at as soon as we get to Graystone."

Shadow was about to argue back; he was a tough pegasus, he could take anything. But the nagging pain in his right wing said otherwise. He nodded and said, "Fine."

* * *

><p>The sun had begun its journey into the heavens when Twilight Sparkle had finally woke up. She checked the analog clock that was on the small bedside table; it read 6:42 A.M. Sitting up in the bed, the purple unicorn stretched a bit before climbing out of bed and heading over to wake Rainbow Dash up, only to find that the cyan pegasus had already woken up earlier and left the room.<p>

Twilight decided to walk over to the vanity and brush her mane before heading out. She gave herself a good look in the mirror. Her mane was a bit unkempt, indicating that she must have slept pretty rough last night, probably because of that odd energy that she felt before dozing off.

_I wonder who...or what could have been creating that energy_, the young unicorn thought as she selected her brush from her travel sack and begun to brush her mane. _Whatever or whoever it was, it must have been pretty strong._

After making sure that her mane was neatly groomed, Twilight exited the room and made her way down the hall towards the massive living room where the suit of armor was displayed. She stopped to admire the superior craftsmanship before walking off to the breakfast room.

"Morning, Twi!"

Twilight Sparkle instantly recognized her friend's voice. "Good morning, Rainbow Dash." She looked around. "Where's Big Macintosh?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Dunno. Must have wondered off somewhere, I think. He already ate breakfast, though."

"Well, we should go find him after we have breakfast," the purple unicorn replied. "We're going to head back to Equestria."

The two sat down at the table and ate breakfast, and ,later, prepared themselves for the long trek back to Equestria. It was about 7:00 A.M when they exited Mayor Graystone's home.

Rainbow Dash stretched a bit and took a deep breath of morning air. "Aaah," she sighed. "It's a good day to take to the skies!"

Twilight nodded. "It is a pretty nice day," she replied. Just then, her ears perked up. "Hey, listen. Do you hear that?"

Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her ear. "Sounds like somepony struggling or something." She flew up a bit and pointed to the left. "Over there! It's Big Mac...but what the hay is he pulling?"

Twilight looked in the direction that her friend had indicated. Sure enough, coming up the hill was Big Macintosh and another stallion about his size. Both were hitched to – and pulling – a cart which had a large, dark stone block in it. They both grunted as they used all their strength to move the heavy load up the hill to the front of the house.

Once they had reached their destination, they unhitched themselves, and the silver stallion said to Big Macintosh, "I can take it from here. Thanks a lot for the assistance."

The rustic earth pony nodded. "You're mighty welcome, sir. Oh! Mornin', you two."

"Good morning, Big Mac," Twilight replied. "That's a huge stone that you two just hauled up here."

"Yeah," the silver stallion replied. "Your friend here helped me move it from my shop near the outskirts. Thanks to him, my job has just got easier."

At that moment, Mayor Graystone walked out of the house. He had on a red long-sleeve shirt and a red and gray striped tie. He smiled when he saw the silver stallion. "Wow. You're here earlier than I expected. I was just about to send some soldiers to help you move this stone."

"No need for that, Mr. Mayor. This stallion right here..." He motioned to Big Macintosh. "...He helped me move this behemoth in record time. I can get to carving that statue you ordered and be finished before midday!"

Suddenly, a Shang-Xiao soldier ran up to the group. "Mayor Graystone! We've got a situation!"

"What is it, corporal!"

"Three ponies! Two pegasi and one alicorn! They said that Yashimoto was attacked!"

Twilight looked over at the soldier. "What was the alicorn's name?" she asked.

The soldier replied, "Princess Luna of Equestria."

* * *

><p>The majestic Princess Celestia gazed out the window of her quarters in Canterlot Castle. She looked north in the direction of the Shang-Xiao-Equestria boarder and wondered what was taking her sister to return.<p>

_I hope that Luna and her escorts are faring well,_ the solar princess thought. Even though Captain Silverblade's _Marauders _squad were some of the best soldiers in the Royal Guard, she still was worried about Luna's safety.

"Your Royal Highness? The Council of Leaders awaits your arrival."

Princess Celestia turned and looked at the young recruit who had spoken. She nodded in acknowledgment. "Thank you, young Guard," she replied. "I shall be there momentarily."

The guard pony saluted. "Understood, Your Majesty. I shall let the council know right away." With that, he turned and marched downstairs.

Celestia looked back out the window. "Please be safe," she whispered before placing her crown on her head and exiting the room.

* * *

><p>"<em>OW<em>! Be careful, dammit!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I have to wrap your wing firmly."

"Well, try to be a bit more..._OUCH_! Damn!"

Shadow was sitting down on a bench while a doctor was attending to his injured wing. Princess Luna and Windshield were in the same room, seated at a table with a Shang-Xiao general and telling him the events that occurred at Yashimoto Village.

"And you said that this thing _wasn't_ a unicorn?" the general asked.

"Yes," the lunar princess replied, "but it was using some sort of magic as if it was a unicorn. I could clearly see that it had leather wings, and..." She shuddered. "...those _eyes..._"

The general raised an eyebrow. "Eyes?"

Luna nodded. "It was as if they were lit by the fires of Hell...I sensed nothing but evil when I looked into those eyes...and I saw..."

"Princess Luna!"

The alicorn looked to her right to see Mayor Graystone, Rainbow Dash, Big Macintosh, and Twilight Sparkle enter the room and dash over to her.

Rainbow Dash noticed Luna's lackluster coat, which was stained by ash and dirt and gave off a hard odor. "Whew! What the hay happened to you, Princess?" she asked.

"When we were resting at the village north of here," Windshield replied, "we were attacked by some rebels and..._something_."

"**AGH! DAMMIT, LADY! WILL YOU BE CAREFUL FOR EPONA'S SAKE**?"

They looked over at Shadow and the doctor. "What's his problem?" Big Macintosh asked.

"His wing got injured in the fight," Luna replied.

Twilight Sparkle walked over to Luna. "What exactly was this..._something_?" she asked.

Luna shook her head. "I do not know," she replied, "but it was evil...very evil." She turned back to the general. "As I was saying, sir, when I looked into the beast's eyes I saw the whole world, Equestria, The Empire, Gryphnor...every nation, consumed by a great fire."

The whole room went silent as they listened to the princess.

"Everything was ablaze," she continued, "and everypony was running for their lives. Some were consumed by the inferno...others were cut down by shadowy figures armed with razor sharp swords. All the while, I heard a voice saying something..."

"W-what was it saying," Twilight asked.

"_Subete wa hi ni yotte shōhi sa remasu__."_

"All will be consumed by fire," Mayor Graystone translated. "Whatever it was, it was saying that it was going to destroy everything in a great fire of some sort."

"Which is highly impossible," the general replied. "There's no way that somepony can start a fire that will engulf every nation of the world."

"That's the point," Luna said. "It _wasn't _a pony. I have no clue what the hell it was, but it was definitely not from this world..."

Twilight Sparkle thought for a moment. _Maybe that thing was giving off that energy that I felt last night..._

"We should head back t' Equestria an' let Princess Celestia know of this," said Big Macintosh.

"I second that motion," Shadow replied before grunting in pain again.

"Yes," the mayor added. "You should head out right away. I'll have a few of my soldiers go with you to keep you safe. General!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Put the troops on high alert and assign a squad to escort these ponies to Equestria."

"Right away, sir!"

* * *

><p>It was about noon when the party was all set to head home. Along with them were ten Shang-Xiao soldiers that were assigned to escort them. They walked out through the southern gate and were on their way.<p>

A few minutes after Graystone Village was out of sight, the group halted as Windshield pointed out something approaching them.

The figure was a cyan earth pony. It was a bit taller than Twilight and had it's mane tied back. Its tail was black like its mane and was medium-length. A sword was strapped to its side by a white cloth. When it got closer, one could see that it had green eyes.

The earth pony approached the party, looked at Princess Luna, and said, "You have met him, haven't you?"

Princess Luna was about to reply when the escorts approached the colt. "Move along, son," the leader snapped. "We have no time for your babbling."

The colt looked at the soldier. "You all are in grave danger," he said. "_He_ has returned, and he will stop at nothing to destroy everything in the mortal realm."

Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight. "Think a rock might've hit his head too hard?" she asked "The guy sounds really cuckoo."

"I don't think so," the unicorn responded, "Whatever he's talking about, it sounds like he has met that _thing_ as well..."

"Move your ass!" Shadow ordered. "You're holding up the show! We've got places to be, kid!"

"Listen to me!" said the colt, his voice rising. "You all are in grave danger! I need to speak with your leader about this monster!"

Luna shuddered. _Something's coming, _she thought. _That feeling again..._

The hair on Twilight's neck started to stand on edge; she felt it too: that dark power from last night! She looked over at Princess Luna and noticed a terrified look on her face.

"Get the hell outta the way before I get physical!" Shadow yelled.

A low rumbling suddenly could be heard by the ponies. The cyan earth pony looked up.

"Dammit! They're here..."

**To be continued...**


	7. Act I Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"Aaand that should do it!"

A brown earth pony pushed a crate of supplies into a corner by some more large crates. Afterwards, he wiped the sweat off of his brow and sighed. "That's the last of the medical supplies from the recent delivery," he said to a young purple dragon with green scales.

"Okay, good," the dragon replied as he checked off a list that he was holding. "All of the meds are accounted for."

The earth pony nodded then started to make his way out of the warehouse; the dragon, who was named Spike, followed.

After the disaster in the Shang-Xiao Empire, Ponyville had become a hub for receiving relief supplies and distributing them to the affected region. Many ponies were milling about, taking care of their various tasks, which ranged from cataloging the incoming and outgoing supplies to actually delivering them to their destinations. A few refugee centers were set up here and there, identified by the tents that were pitched all around Ponyville, and some inns had converted into shelters for refugees.

Spike had volunteered for the cataloging job. Like most of the others who had volunteered for that job, he was swamped by the amount of supplies that came in at a rapid pace. There was a huge back-up when they came in, even though there were plenty of ponies who could catalog them. Only now - a good five hours later - was there a much-needed lull in the action as the flow of the large wooden crates slowed down dramatically; the young dragon mentally thanked the powers that be for the slow-down.

Spike walked out of the warehouse and was immediately stopped by a black pegasus with bright red eyes. "I'll take it from here, kid," she told him with a smile. "You can take a break. You look like you need it."

"Thanks, ma'am," he replied. He handed her the list and walked off towards a small refugee camp that was set up on the outskirts of Ponyville. As he entered, he noticed a familiar orange earth pony returning with two other ponies and an empty cart.

"Hey Applejack," Spike greeted as the earth pony got closer.

"Oh! Hello there, Spike! How's ev'rything goin'?"

"Well, pretty good, compared to a few hours ago. The income of supplies has slowed down a whole lot, thank goodness. What about you?"

Applejack nodded towards the cart. "Well, we jus' completed another deliv'ry," she replied. "The folks were mighty happy t' receive the supplies. They needed them pretty bad, too. The village was almost unrecognizable when we got there! That had to have been one heck of a 'quake!

"Anyways, we're through with our shift now," Applejack continued. "Where ya' headin'?"

"I was going to go check on the others," Spike replied. "Wanna tag along?"

"Sure thing. I was jus' wonderin' how the others were doin' as well."

* * *

><p>"Easy now...easy... There."<p>

Fluttershy had just finished wrapping up a young pegasus' wing which had been broken when some debris fell on her during the earthquake.

"Now be sure to not use that wing for a good while, okay?"

The young filly nodded. "Got it, Miss Fluttershy," she replied with a smile. Her parents walked up to Fluttershy and thanked her for her help, to which she modestly replied, "Oh, you're very welcome."

As the family exited the medical tent, Applejack and Spike walked in.

"Hey there, Fluttershy," Applejack greeted. "How's ev'rythin'?

Fluttershy looked in their direction. "Oh, everything's fine," she said with a smile. "I've fixed up a few hurt ponies, but there hasn't been any who were severely hurt, thankfully."

Spike looked around the medical tent. A few refugees were there getting examined and having their injuries tended to. One young colt had just gotten a few stitches on his chin, while his sister got her leg bandaged up.

"So, Fluttershy," Spike finally said, "have you seen Rarity or Pinkie anywhere recently?"

Fluttershy rubbed her chin as she thought. "Well, if I recall, Rarity and Pinkie Pie are doing a puppet show for the children in the middle of the camp..."

"Gain way! Comin' through!"

The three friends moved quickly out of the way of three unicorns and a stretcher. On it was an unconscious earth pony with a river of blood running from the top of his forehead. As they went by, the trio had got a good look at the injured pony.

"Oh dear!" exclaimed Fluttershy. She turned to Spike and Applejack. "They're probably going to need my help on that one. You two can go on and find Pinkie and Rarity."

"Alright," replied the purple dragon. "Good luck, Fluttershy."

* * *

><p>The rumbling intensified. Now the small pebbles on the ground started to dance from the vibrations.<p>

"What the hell are you talking about?" Windshield yelled. "_Who's_ here?"

The cyan earth pony continued to gaze up into the sky, but replied, "_They_ are here, colt. And they're coming fast!"

The party followed his gaze. At first the sky was, for the most part, clear, with barely any clouds dotting the great blue yonder. Then the wind slowly started to pick up until it was a violent gust - so violent in fact, that Rainbow Dash had to ground herself before she was blown away.

"Jeez!" the cyan pegasus exclaimed. "Why did it get so windy all of a sudden? Is there a storm coming?"

"There's barely any clouds in the sky," Big Macintosh yelled over the howling winds. "Can't be a storm."

"Look! Up in the sky at one o'clock!" shouted Windshield.

Then they saw it.

At first it was nothing but a small yellow streak breaking moving across the blue sky. One could have mistaken it for a meteor or some other extraterrestrial object burning through the atmosphere on its way to the ground, but it seemed to turn - slowly - until...

"H-hey, Princess?" asked Twilight as she eyed the object. "Isn't that thing aiming for us?"

Luna's eyes widened with horror as the object was now pointed towards them and approaching rapidly.

"Twilight!" she yelled. "You and I have to perform a shield spell before-"

"No!"

The party looked at the earth pony whose eyes were locked onto the advancing object.

"Are you out of your mind?" yelled Rainbow Dash. "If we don't put something up between us and that thing, then we'll get-"

"It's not going to hit us," the stallion replied. "Just wait."

Shadow looked at Princess Luna. "With all due respect, your majesty," he began, "I think that this guy is crazy. If we don't put something up between that thing and us, we're gonna get fried."

Luna observed the object more closely, carefully taking note of its trajectory. Afterwards, she stated her decision.

"We wait," she said. "No shield, but be prepared, Twilight Sparkle."

"Yes, ma'am," the purple unicorn replied as she took position beside the night princess. She looked at the burning object and readied her shield spell just in case; Luna followed suit.

The burning object sped towards the party, seemingly intent on crushing or incinerating them all, but suddenly nosed down and smashed into the rocky ground a few yards in front of them. A few flaming pieces arched into the air and came down all around the ponies and a thick blanket of smoke clouded their vision for a while.

Eventually, the smoke began to clear...

"We've got some comp'ny," said the rustic Big Macintosh. "A bunch of nasty lookin' fellas, too."

The smoke finally cleared to reveal two squads of rebel soldiers donning outdated leather armor and light weapons, mainly clubs and short swords. They growled and brandished their weapons at the party, who, in response, drew their weapons as well.

"Crap!" exclaimed Shadow. "Rebels!"

"But how did they manage to travel in a fireball?" asked Twilight.

"Now that would be my doing, young filly," a calm - but menacing - voice echoed through the air.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash as a column of fire descended from a harmless-looking cloud and smashed into the ground closer to Luna and company. The column dispersed to reveal _something_.

It was _huge_ - even bigger than Big Macintosh! This beast had black, serrated hooves, a black mane with yellow highlights, a crimson red coat with black stripes all over it, two curved, wickedly sharp horns, two large black leathery wings, a black spade tail, and bright yellow eyes with a single black slit as their pupils. The monster grinned, showing its pearly white, pointed teeth, and a deep chuckle emitted from its throat.

A chill ran up Luna's spine as she realized that _this_ was the beast from before, the same one that destroyed Yashimoto Village. Shadow and Windshield steadied themselves, as did the other escorting Shang-Xiao imperial soldiers.

"Who...or _what_ the heck is this guy?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"I don't know," replied Twilight Sparkle, "but the energy that it's giving off...it's extremely powerful, that's for sure."

"It's him," said Luna. "The monster who attacked us in-"

"Yashimoto Village," the creature interrupted. "Why, yes, my dear princess. It is me. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Just who the heck are you, anyways?" Rainbow Dash yelled.

The red beast chucked, revealing its sharp teeth once again. "Oh! Feisty little thing, aren't you? Well, your friend over there can answer that question for you." He looked over at the cyan earth pony, whose emerald green eyes - burning with ultimate hate - were fixed on the beast.

"Isn't that right, Haku?"

The cyan earth pony took a step forward. "Fifteen years," he said. "For fifteen years, I have ruthlessly and tirelessly pursued you, hunted your hide across land and sea with only one thing on my mind. _Revenge_!"

Haku was yelling now, his voice full of rage.

"I have trained endlessly for this day to come, demon! Now I will avenge my clan and my sword shall rend your flesh and drink your blood!"

With a swift motion, he drew his sword - a short, well-crafted, single-bladed weapon. Its blade glistened in the sunlight. Holding the handle firmly in his jaws, he glared daggers at the red monster, who simply just raised an eyebrow.

"You actually think that that pathetic little butter knife is going to hurt me?" he asked. He threw his head back and laughed. "HAHAHA! You Soryuhazuke Clan ponies are truly foolish. I have grown more powerful than I have ever been, you fool! Your so-called magical sword is no longer a threat to me!"

He leveled his head and glared at the whole group. His evil yellow eyes were observing every pony. "I would go ahead and kill you all myself, but where's the fun in that? I'll just let my loyal followers slaughter you all. Soldiers! Attack! Kill them all!"

With a loud battle cry, the rebel soldiers charged their enemies.

"Protect Princess Luna and the civilians!" Shadow yelled. "Their safety is our top priority!"

The soldiers got into position, forming a wedge with Luna, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Big Macintosh behind them. Once again, weapons clashed against each other as both groups did battle.

Haku was moving with ease, bobbing and weaving through the enemies as he dodged their strikes and slashed at them with lightning fast moves and deadly precision. Shadow ducked as a rebel swung his club; a Shang-Xiao soldier struck the rebel down. One rebel managed to sneak around the wedge formation only to receive a swift kick from Big Macintosh, who had another rebel in a headlock. Rainbow Dash dodged a wooden club and headbutted the rebel who attacked her, then threw a quick one-two combo on another rebel, finishing it with a jaw-shattering uppercut. Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna fired bolts of magic at the enemies, all the while careful not to hit their own escorts.

Windshield was knocked over. Before he could stand up, a rebel stood over him, raising his rusty blade.

"Now you die, kid!" he yelled.

Windshield closed his eyes; he knew that this was it...

_THUD!_

The young Guard opened his eyes when he heard that noise. The rebel was gone, kicked off of the cliff by Haku.

"Get up!" the cyan pony yelled through the sword handle that was clenched in his teeth.

Windshield wasted no time in doing so. "Thank you."

"Thank me later once this fight is over!"

Through their combined efforts, Luna and her escorts had begun to thin out the rebel troops, whose morale began to take a sharp drop. Some of them even began to turn and run for their lives. The red beast frowned and scoffed.

"Get back there and fight, you worthless pieces of pig manure!" he yelled; despite his menacing stature and voice, the rebels - his "loyal" followers - paid him no heed. Eventually, they all broke rank and ran away from the fight. In a rage, he used his dark magic to grab a retreating rebel and throw him aside off the cliff. "Fine! Since you all are too scared to finish these fools off, then I will!"

He closed his eyes. Suddenly, three small columns of fire erupted in front of him. When they disappeared, three heavily armored earth ponies stood in their place. They were clad in heavy scale armor which was colored dark purple and black. Their helmets had a pair of black horns on them which curved upward. Their faces were not visible; the only thing you could see was a wall of black, but six glowing red slits - their eyes - were clearly visible. They were completely silent. They didn't even appear to breath.

"Woah! What are those things?" inquired Windshield, a hint of fear was in his voice.

"Shadow Guards," Haku replied, readying his sword. "Stay sharp. These demons are extremely dangerous."

A Shang-Xiao soldier readied his blade. "Pfft! They don't look so tough."

As if on cue, one of the Shadow Guards disappeared in a puff of shadowy smoke, then reappeared in front of the soldier. It stabbed its sword into the soldier and pulled out in a flash. The dumbfounded soldier looked down at his wound, looked back at the demon, then fell down dead.

"Pony down!" Shadow yelled. "Holy crap! Here comes the other ones!"

The other two Shadow Guards charged at the formation, and steel clashed against steel once again. Even though Luna and her escorts outnumbered them, the demons were slowly devastating them.

"These monsters!" exclaimed a Shang-Xiao soldier. "T-they're actually holding us off!"

Shadow swung his blade and it chopped off one of the demons' left foreleg. There was no blood; only a black liquid squirted out. It stopped and glarred at it's attacker as its severed limb regenerated.

"They can regenerate!" he exclaimed.

In response, Twilight Sparkle fired several magic bolts at a Shadow Guard, blowing a hole in it's chest. As the hole slowly closed, she noticed how the demon's eyes were glowing more brightly as it repaired itself.

"Princess!" she yelled. "That one! Quick!"

The alicorn wasted no time. She fired a strong bolt of midnight blue magic at the Shadow Guard's head, blowing half of it's head off. It's glowing eyes dimmed until they disappeared, and the whole thing turned into a puddle of black liquid.

"Go for their limbs!" Luna yelled. "We'll have to blast their heads off with magic while they regenerate!"

_That won't be necessary for me_, Haku thought. He charged at the Shadow Guard that was attacking Shadow and Windshield. In two swift motions, he lopped off the demon's front legs. As it was regenerating, he stabbed it through its "face," expecting it to be the _coup de grace_, but it continued to regenerate its severed limbs.

"What!" the earth pony exclaimed. "But how? My sword should be able to defeat these demons!"

"Foolish Haku," the red monster said. "As I have said before, I have grown stronger than before. I have made my Shadow Guards resistant to the magic of your sword. It's nothing more than a mere toy now!"

Before the Shadow Guard had fully regenerated its limbs, Twilight Sparkle blasted a hole in it's "face" with a bolt of magic. It wobbled, then turned into the same black liquid as before.

Big Macintosh gave the remaining Guard a hefty kick to the chest. It only skidded back a few inches before charging forward and ramming the rustic pony, knocking him off of his hooves and down to the ground. The Shadow Demon slowly made its way to its downed victim, but Rainbow Dash karate-chopped it's helmet with a loud "HIYA!"

_CLAAANG!_

She instantly drew her hoof back, wincing in pain.

"Owowowowowow!" she cried. She did not notice the Shadow Demon slowly turning towards her; Twilight Sparkle did, however, and fired three bolts. Two blew off the demon's limbs, the other smashed into its helmet, blowing its head off and causing the demon to liquify.

"Whew!" Windshield sighed. He looked towards the crimson stallion. "Is that all you've got, punk?"

The red stallion snorted angrily, and began to make his way towards the ponies with an evil frown on his face.

"Is...ugh...is everypony okay?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash replied as she nursed her hoof. "I'm all good...Hey! Watch it! Big n' Ugly's comin' right for us!" She pointed towards the beast as he approached.

"Watch it! Here he comes!"

Twilight Sparkle focused her magic into her horn; it began to glow brightly as more and more magic flowed into it. A few soldiers got out of her way as she aimed at the foe.

"Take this!" she yelled. Suddenly, a bolt of lilac magic flew from her horn and smashed into the beast's head. It exploded violently, causing him to reel back.

"Nice shot, Twi!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "You totally-"

"You call that a magic attack?" the beast yelled. Twilight and the others gasped. _That blast didn't even leave a mark on him!_

"THIS is a real magic attack! TAKE THIS!"

Suddenly, a horribly strong force smashed into the purple unicorn, sending her flying back and smashing into a rock. She bounced off and landed face first into the ground unconscious.

"Oh no! Twilight!" Rainbow Dash cried as she sped off towards her friend. Haku, on the other hand, charged directly at the monster. He jumped high into the air and swung his sword at him as he came down. Just as in Yashimoto Village, the blade stopped inches away from the beast. Then, Haku was suspended in mid-air by a dark force.

"Hahaha!" the red beast laughed. "I told you that your puny blade has no effect on me." He then spun around, smacking the earth pony in the gut with his powerful black wing and sending him flying into Windshield. He then turned towards Princess Luna and grinned.

"Now, it's your turn."

"Nope!"

Big Macintosh suddenly charged at the beast along with Shadow.

"You can take us out one-on-one," Shadow yelled, "but let's see if you can take out two at a time!"

The beast snorted. "Gladly."

Just as the two stallions were about to attack the crimson monster, a dark energy caused them to freeze in place. They were lifted up into the air and thrown back. They slammed into the ground on either side of Princess Luna. The beast then started walking towards the princess.

Luna gritted her teeth and fired a fury of white magic bolts at the beast. They did not even hit their target; the same dark force deflected the blasts in different directions as he advanced closer.

"It is futile to fight back," he said. "You _will_ die here and no...wait. What is this?"

He stopped and looked at his body as a small shadowy aura slowly began to radiate from his body. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Luna. "What sort of trickery is this?" he asked.

Luna observed the aura, confused. "I-I don't know," she replied.

The beast snorted. "Hmph! Whatever this is, it's not doing anything," he said. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes." He began to walk towards Luna again. The aura slowly became darker and more pronounced.

Suddenly, he stopped and fell to the ground trembling and gripping his head with his front hooves as he screamed in severe pain. The others looked on in shock as he went through what could have been a seizure. The aura intensified, and occasionally, an orange trail would streak through the aura cloud like lightning from a storm cloud.

Rainbow Dash looked up from Twilight Sparkle at the suffering beast. "W-what's going on?"

Haku got off of Windshield. "His first form," he said. "It's dying."

Suddenly, the beast stopped and stood up, breathing heavily and looking at the ground. The aura slowly faded into nothingness. His eyes were wide with a mix of pain and fear.

"No! Not now!" he hissed. "Of all the times, not now! Damn! Damn! Damn! This changes everything..."

He looked up at the group and snarled. "Seems like fate has spared your miserable lives," he said to them. "Consider yourselves lucky today, for the next time we meet, you all shall burn! And so will the rest of this world!"

Suddenly, he was engulfed in a column of fire. Haku scrambled to a standing position. His eyes widened with horror as he saw the fire.

"No!" he yelled. He picked up his sword and charged towards the column, but just as he reached it, it disappeared, leaving no trace of the monster that stood at its center. An evil laugh echoed through the air.

Haku placed his sword in its sheath and stood there; Princess Luna and the rest of the party ran over to Twilight Sparkle, who was slowly coming to.

"Twi! Can you hear me?" Rainbow Dash asked her friend. The unicorn simply groaned in response.

Windshield took a quick look at her. "Her back seems to be intact, miraculously," he told the rainbow-maned pegasus.

Slowly, Twilight attempted to stand up, but she fell, groaning in pain.

"M-my leg," she said. "I-I think I broke it when I hit the ground...Ah!"

"Hold still," Luna told her. "Somepony help me make a splint."

"On it, your highness!" Shadow replied. He turned to Haku. "Oi! You there! Get over here!"

The cobalt earth pony turned his head to look at the pegasus. "No," he said coldly. "I will not waste time while a demon freely roams the realm of the living! I had him right there! Right during his moment of weakness! But he slipped right through the cracks and is gone again!"

"You found him once, you can find him again, colt!" Shadow yelled.

"You truly don't get it, do you?" Haku replied. "There might not be a next time with him! If he finds the orbs and reaches his final form, then it's all over for us all!"

"What orbs? What the hell are you babbling about, you idiot?"

"There's no time! I have to find him again. More than likely he would be heading in the same direction that we are, and in that case, I will have to explain everything to you later, when we meet again." With that, the earth pony bolted off down the path towards the border, leaving the group.

"Crazy colt," Shadow muttered as he made his way back to the group. He kicked a club in the direction he was walking in. Once he was close, he drew his sword and split it into two halves, which Luna picked up using her magic and placed them on either side of Twilight's left front leg. Windshield brought over a leather strap from a dead rebel's armor set and carefully wrapped it around her leg, completing the splint. Luna then used her magic to lift the injured unicorn up and set her on Big Macintosh's back.

"We have to get back to Equestria," she said, "and fast, before we encounter more rebels or that red stallion again."

"Couldn't agree more, Princess," replied Rainbow Dash as she flew up into the air and hovered at a low altitude. "I don't wanna end up fighting Mr. Big, Red, and Ugly again."

"Windshield!" Shadow yelled. "You're with me! We'll scout ahead of the group and make sure that the path ahead is clear."

"Got it, boss," the young guard pony replied. Both pegasi took off ahead of the party as they started off towards the border.

"When we do see that colt again," began Twilight Sparkle, "we'll take him to Princess Celestia. I'm sure she will want to know about this demon as well."

"Hay yeah," Rainbow Dash replied. "I'm totally confused here. And I bet that you guys are, too."

The remaining Shang-Xiao soldiers nodded in response, and Big Macintosh simply replied, "Eeyup."

"What I would want to know is why is this monster targeting me," Luna said, "and if he might target Celestia next."

"Wouldn't suprise me," Rainbow Dash added. "And what is this 'first form' 'final form' nonsense?"

Twilight shrugged. "Don't know, but I have a feeling that we'll find out very soon."

"As do I, Twilight Sparkle," the lunar alicorn replied. "As do I..."

**To be continued...**


	8. Act I Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

After two days of traveling south, the party had finally reached the border of Equestria. Once they had reached Manehattan, they boarded a train that was bound for Ponyville, where they would have to get off and board another train to Canterlot. The train car was comfortable, of course, but most of the party was trying their hardest to figure out what the cyan colt was talking about instead of relaxing.

What was this "final form?"  
>Who was that demon and where did he come from?<br>Why was he intent on killing Luna?  
>What are these orbs?<p>

So many questions, yet no answers.

Twilight Sparkle looked out the nearby window, her front leg still in the splint. No doubt those exact same questions were swirling around in her mind. She wanted answers. Badly.

"Whoever this demon is," she said to herself, "I hope that he didn't get to Ponyville or Canterlot before us."

She looked around the car. Big Macintosh was seated in front of her. In the seat on the opposite aisle sat Princess Luna, who was busy writing a letter which was probably addressed to her sister. Windshield and Shadow, the two surviving escorts, were seated in front and behind her respectively. Rainbow Dash was seated beside the purple unicorn. She noticed that there were more empty seats, then remembered that the Shang-Xiao soldiers had to return to Graystone Village after they made sure that Luna and company made it to Manehattan safely.

Rainbow Dash looked over at her friend. "You still wondering about that freak and that blue guy?" she asked.

Twilight Sparkle looked back at Rainbow Dash. "Yeah, I am. I think the cyan earth pony's name was Haku if I recall."

"Yeah, but what I really wanna know is what the heck was he talking about. Orbs, final forms...I don't understand any of it."

Twilight Sparkle looked back out the window. The scenery whizzed by in a blur as the train sped towards its destination.

"Me neither," she replied, "but I believe that we'll be finding out very soon."

==================================================================

"We've been through this seven times, Emperor! That was a training exercise! Nothing more! Just a training exercise!"

"You expect me to believe that lie, General Stormbeak? That is what you said _sixteen _years ago when you launched a sneak attack on both Equestria and Shang-Xiao!"

"Ugh! For the last time, that was a rogue commander who went against orders! Those were not the actions of the Griffin Republic!"

"Please, you two. Calm down and focus on the matter at hand."

Princess Celestia did her best to prevent any further argument between Supreme General Stormbeak of the Griffin Republic and Emperor Xiao of the Shang-Xiao Empire. Both leaders hated each other's guts and were constantly bringing up each other's past flaws at every single meeting. The other leaders - Celestia included - were growing tired of their constant squabbling.

"My apologies, Princess Celestia," said Emperor Xiao, an elderly green earth pony donning expensive silk robes and an elaborate headdress. "I just find it hard to believe that those barbaric, war-loving Griffins are simply 'performing training exercises.'"

Stormbeak slammed both of his claws on the table top and stood up. The Griffin was covered with old battle scars and he had an eye patch over his right eye. "Emperor Xiao!" he shouted. "You are truly testing my temper!"

Another earth pony stood up and spoke. "You two constantly go back and forth about that incident sixteen years ago," she stated. "Why can't you both just put that little incident behind you and move on?"

"Because," Stormbeak replied angrily, "this old fool keeps bringing it up!"

"Who are you calling a fool?"

"You, Xiao! I'm calling _you _a fool!"

"Both of you shut up before I have to smack you both with my cane!" shouted an elderly Diamond Dog.

"Heh! You think you can hurt _me_, mutt?"

"I'm warning you, if you ever call me that again, I'll-"

"**ENOUGH**!"

All of the leaders in the room turned to look at Princess Celestia, whose expression clearly stated that she was fed up with the constant argument.

"Yes, the incident was sixteen years ago, and yes, it caused a lot of damage to every nearby kingdom, but constantly bringing it up in every single meeting for the past three months is not going to get us anywhere! Now I don't want to hear another word about it for the rest of the meeting, and do _not _start arguing or you will be escorted out. Am I understood?"

Everyone in the room nodded in response.

"Good." The solar princess sighed before continuing. "Now, back to the matter at hand. Emperor Xiao?"

The earth pony stood up and cleared his throat. "Ahem, yes. There have been reports of bandits and rebels prowling the roads in the southernmost part of the Empire, mainly the areas affected by the previous earthquake. Already, there have been a few relief teams that have reported being ambushed and robbed by these brutes. Our military has responded, but they are spread quite thin right now, and some of the roadways remain inadequately guarded."

"Speaking of these brutes," the Diamond Dog added, "the border patrols have reported that some of them have attempted to sneak into Equestria. Our kind had to collapse several tunnels near the border that were supposedly used or are being used by them."

Celestia nodded. She turned to Stormbeak. "Have your patrols reported any suspicious activity near the Republic's borders?"

The grizzled veteran nodded. "Indeed they have, Princess. Not as frequent as the Equestria-Shang-Xiao border, but still."

Celestia nodded once again. "I believe that it would be best to increase security near the borders," she said. "Also, every team that is delivering relief supplies to the affected region in Shang-Xiao must have at least a squad of soldiers for escort. So far, no casualties have been reported, and we want to keep it that way while preventing any more raids on the deliveries."

"I will have the Griffin Army ready to defend any relief convoys that will be traveling into and out of southern Shang-Xiao," said Stormbeak as he straightened up in his chair. "No pathetic rebel who wants to live shall dare attempt to raid another convoy."

"By the way, your highness," began a pegasus stallion, "have you heard from Princess Luna lately?"

The white alicorn shook her head. "No, not yet. She and her escorts should have been back a few days ago, but I'm sure that Captain Silverblade is keeping her safe."

The pegasus nodded. "Yes, I agree. With Silverblade and his team on the job, I am positive that no harm has or will come to Princess Luna."

Celestia smiled and nodded. "Alright, then. On to the next subject..."

==================================================================

With the help of a brown unicorn, Rarity loaded clothes and blankets (some made, and some donated) into large wooden crates, which were then loaded onto a wooden cart. She and her helper had been doing this since high noon, which was two hours ago.

"Last crate," Rarity said to the brown unicorn. "Then we can take a quick break."

"Got it, miss."

Rarity had volunteered to collect clothing and blankets that were donated by fellow Equestrians to help those that were affected by the earthquake in the Shang-Xiao Empire. They weren't the only ones, though, as Rarity had received donations coming from as far as the Griffin Republic and other faraway kingdoms. Cotton, wool, silk, synthetics, almost every kind of fabric that existed was donated and sent to the Carousel Boutique where the two unicorns sorted them out and loaded them into crates for distribution.

The brown stallion folded a cotton garment and placed it into the open crate. "That's a pretty nice-looking kimono that I just loaded."

"Yes, it was very elegant-looking," Rarity replied, "but that wasn't a kimono."

"Beg your pardon?"

Rarity leaned over the crate and pointed at the garment. "It's not a kimono. See? It's made of cotton, not silk, so therefore, it's a yukata. And according to the multicolored design, its for a child. Adults usually wear solid, darker colors. They're also a pretty common sight during the summer."

The brown unicorn nodded. "You sure do know your stuff when it comes to clothes, Rarity."

"Thank you, dear. It comes with working in the clothing industry."

They went back to work and, after a few more minutes, they finished loading the crate. Another unicorn closed it and moved it onto the cart and hitched himself to it. After waving goodbye to the two, he pulled the cart off towards the centermost part of Ponyville.

The brown unicorn sighed and looked at Rarity. "Gotta go, Miss Rarity," he said. "I promised to take my girl out for a walk today."

"Okay, dear. You may go, but be sure to be back at six."

The stallion nodded. "Got it, ma'am. _Arrivederci._"

As he walked out, Rarity used her magic to pick up some paper and a pencil. She wrote down some notes pertaining to a new outfit that she had in the works, then set them down and left the boutique, locking the door behind her.

"I think I should go and visit the others and see how they are doing," she said to herself as she headed towards the town's outskirts. She thought about Twilight and Rainbow Dash as she walked and wondered what was taking them so long to get back. They should have been back a few days ago...

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a familiar pink pony popped up in front of her, startling her and causing her to jump.

"Hiya, Rarity!"

"Oh! Pinkie Pie. You startled me."

"Oopsie. Sorry. Anyways, how's it going?"

Rarity smiled. "Good. We've just finished another load of donated clothes and are on break until later this evening. How are things on your end, Pinkie?"

"Well," the pink earth pony began, "AJ and I had finished baking another batch of apple pies and a whooooooole lotta cupcakes for the refugees. Also..."

She reached into her saddlebag which Rarity had just noticed, and pulled out a sock puppet. It was white and red with green buttons for eyes and a red horn made out of construction paper.

"...I'm about to do another sock puppet performance for the kids. Wanna join in?"

"Gladly, but I have to make a few stops first. I'll meet you at the camp after I'm done."

"Okey dokey lokey!" Pinkie replied. "But don't take too long, or I'll have to start without you."

"I won't be long, dear." Rarity told her as she began to walk off. "See you there."

"Alrighty!"

_I have to find him! He will pay!_

Haku darted through the woods as he traveled south. He was hot on the demon's trail. He knew it! That monster will not escape him this time!

_Fifteen years of endlessly hunting him down, through rain, snow, sleet, hail, heat, cold, storm and sunshine...fifteen long years!_

He nearly crashed into a fallen tree, but leapt over it at the last minute. He landed and continued to run at full speed. The environment was nothing a blur.

_He will die! I will have my revenge!_

Princess Celestia had just exited the room after the meeting was adjourned when a letter poofed in front of her. She caught it using her magic and opened it.

"Your Majesty?"

A Guard lieutenant had walked into the hallway and stopped in front of Celestia, just as she finished reading the letter. She lowered it, and the guard could see that she had a dark expression on her face.

"Is there...something wrong?" he asked once more.

"Alert the Guard," said the princess with a serious tone. "Tell the officers to meet me in the meeting room immediately, and have Shining Armor move his company to Ponyville. Go!"

The Guard saluted then darted off towards the exit to alert the others. Princess Celestia looked back down at the letter.

"So, the rebels have decided to get bolder."

_...to be continued._


End file.
